Obsidian Journal Templates

The note-taking app Obsidian utilizes templates that can be a great way to structure your journals without having to start from scratch. If you’re having trouble finding the perfect Obsidian journal template, you’ve come to the right place. Fortunately, there are plenty of ideas out there if you know where to look.

This article will help you find or create Obsidian journal templates to get you started on your next journaling project.

Daily Journal Template With Templater

If you plan to journal daily, a template set up for a daily journal can save you time and energy. This Daily Notes Template, using the automation plugin Templater, can set up Obsidian to handle your daily journaling efficiently.

1. In Obsidian, click on the “Settings” icon in the bottom left corner of the screen.
   
2. Select the “Community Plugins” tab in the left-hand menu.
   
3. Click “Turn On Community Plugins.”
   
4. Choose “Browse” to look through the plugins.
   
5. Enter “Templater” in the search bar.
   
6. Click the blue “Install” button.
   
7. Once the plugin has been installed, click the “Enable” button.
   
8. Choose the “Options” button.
   
9. Toggle on the “Trigger Templater on New File Creation” switch.
   

Now that you have Templater set up to help with your daily journals, begin to create them.

1. Create a template file called “Daily Template” by clicking the “New file” icon. This looks like a piece of paper with a pencil writing on it.
   
2. Make a new folder called “Journal” by clicking the “New Folder” icon. It’s the folder with the plus in the middle of it.
   
3. Click on the Obsidian “Settings” icon.
   
4. Choose “Daily Notes” in the left menu.
   
5. Under “New File Location,” enter the location of the Journal folder you just made.
   
6. For “Template File Location,” add the location of your new “Daily Template” template.
   
7. Visit this Daily Notes Template site and scroll to the bottom to download the template.
   
   • Alternatively, you can enter this text into the Daily Template file:
     [[<% tp.date.today(“YYYY-MM-DD”)%>]]

Understanding the Journal Syntax

Obsidian templates are text files that communicate formatting to the program. The above journal syntax is easy to customize, even if you don’t know how to program in Markdown or another text-based program.

• The brackets – [[…]] – around the entire text string make the dates page links. You can remove these if you don’t care for this feature.
• Symbols – <%tp and %> – mark where the template text begins and ends.
• The date can be set to Today, Yesterday, or several other presets depending on when you plan to journal.
• The date format “YYYY-MM-DD” can be altered to fit your preferences.

With this information, you can customize this journal template if you desire.

Other Obsidian Journal Templates

Obsidian users have shared a few template forms online. If you want to grab someone else’s format, you can begin journaling in just a few minutes.

• Blog Journal: If your daily journal is intended to be used for a blog, this site has a great template starter. You can use the pre-made template or just view it to get some template ideas. It is particularly helpful for journaling as the template sections make sure you won’t forget the content that you intend to include each day.
• Research Journal: This template and syntax explanation will be helpful for anyone who is journaling for a science or research project. It has some great ideas for quantifying journal information, like weather and moon phases.
• Bible Journal: If you are journaling Bible Study notes, there are lots of resources for templates and ideas. Check out Github, this Obsidian forum, or this Template thread for Bible journaling templates and help.
• Recipe Journal: Many users have found that Obsidian handles their recipes in a frictionless system. For recipe journal help, visit this Obsidian forum thread.

Other Sources of Obsidian Journal Templates

Keeping a journal with Obsidian is becoming popular. Since so many people are making use of this tool for journaling, there are lots of options out there for journal templates.

• Reddit has several daily journal template ideas. You can copy and paste any of these that you like.
• Obsidian forums are an excellent place to find journal templates and tricks. This thread has ideas for dream journals, workout journals, and more.
• If you’re looking for a thorough Obsidian journal template, this one has sections for things to accomplish, things you’re struggling with, things you’re excited about, and more.
• The Obsidian site is a great place to check for more journal templates, like this daily journal template or this journal entry template.

Create Your Own Journal Template

No one knows you like you know yourself, which is why making journal templates in Obsidian is a great idea and easy to do. Creating a journal template can let you customize it perfectly to your needs.

Obsidian template files use Markdown syntax, as the creator of Markdown had a hand in creating Obsidian as well. If you want to have ultimate flexibility in your journal templates, learn how to use Markdown to communicate with Obsidian.

• This Markdown cheat sheet can help you get started. Note that it requires signing up for a free trial to access the website.
• This informational article is a guide to getting started with Markdown. It explains how Markdown works and the different ways to use it.
• This Markdown tutorial claims that you can learn the concept in 10 minutes. The general sentiment among users is that the best way to learn it is just to practice. Give the tutorial a try and you can be writing your own journal templates in no time and sharing them with others.
• This Markdown: Dingus offers a space to practice what you’re learning to see if it works. It has a syntax cheat sheet on one side and can show you in real-time if your text is translated to the appropriate HTML code. This is especially helpful if you plan to store your Obsidian journals online.

Markdown Journal

A final option for an Obsidian journal is to use a Markdown Journal that is already made for you. This can translate directly into Obsidian and requires no creation on your part. A Markdown Journal offers a journal that stores your entries in Dropbox as Markdown files. You can begin writing immediately and all your work is saved in an easy-to-access file tree. You can continue to edit the files whenever you wish.

FAQ

What is a .md file?

A file ending in the extension “.md” indicates a Markdown file.

Do I have to write my templates in Markdown?

Markdown is the syntax that Obsidian uses for its templates, so this text-based system is the only way to make official Obsidian Templates.

What are the benefits of a template?

When you use a template, you keep the formatting consistent each time you create a new file. This cuts down on entry errors, and it also streamlines your journal creation process. It’s also easy to share the template with someone if you want them to also follow your formatting.

Obsidian Journal Templates

Using Obsidian templates for journals can save time and help you to format multiple journals in the exact same way. Templates reduce input errors and make sure that you don’t forget the entry information that you want in your journals. Use templates to maximize the effectiveness of your Obsidian journals.

Do you have a favorite Obsidian journal or other template? Share them with us in the comments below.